Goodwill store helps job seekers with self-esteem

When most people think of Goodwill, they think of the second-hand stores that dot the nation. Revenue from the stores though actually helps pay for Goodwill’s larger mission of helping people find work.

MACHESNEY PARK — Rockford’s Mary Marek has been a certified nursing assistant for more than 20 years, but even experience doesn’t always help when the local jobless rate remains at or near 10 percent.

After leaving a health care facility two years ago because it went from 8-hour shifts to 12-hour shifts, she’s been in the job placement program of Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois.

She successfully found work a couple of times, but those jobs didn’t last. Tuesday, she was at the Goodwill store in Machesney Park taking advantage of a one-day offer of free massages, haircuts, makeup tips and a free outfit to help with interviews.

“I’m cheap. I need things to be free right now,” Marek said of the Goodwill offer, which she hopes helps her land a permanent job in an area where the latest unemployment rate in April was 9.9 percent.

“It can’t hurt.”

When most people think of Goodwill, they think of the second-hand stores that dot the nation. Revenue from the stores though actually helps pay for Goodwill’s larger mission of helping people find work.

Nicole Inman is the employment specialist for Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois, which covers an area that includes Rockford, Machesney Park, Freeport, Sterling, DeKalb and Beloit, Wis. Inman said in the Rockford-Machesney Park area, typically 75 people at a time are in Goodwill’s job placement program.

“We provide clerical skills training, resume building tips, interview skills, how to write a cover letter and how to find job leads,” Inman said. “Then we support them through the process.”

The local Goodwill organization is a significant employer itself. According to its 2011 IRS records, available on Guidestar.org, it had $11.9 million in revenue versus $11.1 million in expenses and employed 389 people at various points during the year.

Inman said Monday’s event — “Be Good to Yourself” — was aimed at helping Goodwill clients feel more confident when they are interviewing. The organization partnered with Rockford Career College, Educators of Beauty and an Avon representative. Nearly 30 people took advantage of the full array of services.

“This is the first time we’ve offered it, but we are considering doing this again,” Inman said.